China Resources (Holdings) plans to build a boutique hotel in Wan Chai at an estimated cost of more than HK$300 million to enhance its asset portfolio and help give the area a facelift.
Chairman Song Lin said the company would build an international-standard hotel on top of the lower block of the China Resources Building, its headquarters, on Harbour Road. The lower block is occupied by the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre and departmental store Chinese Arts and Crafts.
The development plot ratio of the lower block has not been used up and the group is allowed to build about 200,000 square feet on top of the tower, according to China Resources Property, a wholly owned unit of the unlisted conglomerate.
CR Property said it was in talks with an international hotel consultant to discuss the type of hotel to be built. One option is a boutique hotel with more than 20 storeys and more than 200 rooms.
No cost has been disclosed, but analysts said a boutique hotel or five-star hotel would cost from HK$1.5 million to HK$1.8 million per room, or between HK$300 million and HK$360 million in total.
Together with the ongoing renovation of the higher block of China Resources Building and a plan to revamp the old publicly owned Harbour Road Garden next to its headquarters, north Wan Chai would see a facelift, Mr Song said.
To boost its international image as a green developer, CR Property is renovating its 25-year-old headquarters at a cost of about HK$600 million.